Raseri manages to sheathe her sword, but each moment that passes leaves her moving more stiffly. After about a minute, she's sitting down against the wall shivering.
"Worse off than I thought." she manages to slur out.
"Worse off than I thought." she manages to slur out.
Molasbar nods in agreement. He slaps his right thigh hard, clearly not feeling any sensation in it. He steps away from the wall finally, but he stumbles some and drags his foot, clearly still struggling against the effects of the poison.
"I could try to press on. I was only bitten the once, and the venom seems localized. I think I can still cast spells." His face makes it clear, though, that he'd rather rest and let the venom run its course before facing danger again.
"Better'n me. Don't e'en think I ken hol' me swor' straight. Prolly could'n feel me arm gettin' sliced off right now."
Raseri's cheeks turn bright red, most likely from embarrassment.
"Why don't we take a quick look around, see if there is anything that victims of these centipedes has left behind, and then head back to town to wait out the effects of the poison."
The non-injured members of the party take a look around the room but find nothing of interest short of the broken shards of mosaic. There's a door leading south out of this room; you hear no signs of movement or other danger beyond it.
"Let's get out of here. I don't trust my luck this day."
The group limps back to Zelkor's Ferry with its tail between its legs. They get a few sniggering glances from a couple of the townsfolk at their quick return, having only been gone for a scant couple of hours, but most hide their scorn upon seeing Raseri's state.
By the time they make it back to the inn, it doesn't look like Raseri could get any redder.
Reginald takes a vacation for the next few days while the group rests up. He chases skirts around town, drinks up a storm, and generally makes a public nuisance of himself. He keeps an ear out for any rumors while he's doing all this socializing, but he's not so concerned about it that he goes out of his way to specifically interrogate anyone.
Olo nods in agreement at the decision to leave and fight another day. ...weak....good.... Although he had not been bitten he seems to shake his head, trying to clear it of.... something.
The walk back to Zelkor's Ferry is almost pleasant. He allows himself to enjoy it and is happy he didn't let out the words of a coward earlier. Raseri stands in front of us all, fighting on as she is bitten and you are spooked at the thought of getting hurt!
During their down time, Olofire doesn't do anything in particular. He accompanies the other companions as they go about town (if they have no objections). If he sees the lone survivor drinking in the tavern he will try to strike up another conversation with him.
Molasbar is eager to take to bed when they return to town. He goes to sleep almost immediately and is out for many long hours as his body processes through the remaining venom.
Raseri sleeps for most of three days, only getting up to get something to drink and eat. Her hair is a loose-hanging mess and her clothes hanging askew when she enters the common room.
After 3 days of bed rest for Raseri, and a lot of time-wasting and talking crap for the rest, the group is ready to head out again. About a day into your stay, the drunken and terrified adventurer that Olo had spoken to the other night leaves the tavern; according to Odo, he'd finally sobered up enough to book passage down the river and return to civilisation. For now, that leaves just your group as the only non-locals about Zelkor's Ferry.
About halfway to the entrance of the Mouth of Doom, Ninivic pulls the group up in concern, reporting that he could hear the sound of wolves nearby. Strange for so early in the morning, but doubly so at the sheer number of howls that dog your trail for the next half an hour before gradually fading out of earshot. None of the group catch sight of any wolves during the journey whatsoever.
Eventually, you reach the dungeon and return to where you had left off three days prior. The door to the mural room was left ajar, and even before you approach it you can hear strange, almost otherworldly screeching and skittering noises coming from within. Peering into the door, you can see more of the centipedes have returned in your absence--four are currently feeding on the remains of those you have already slain.
The next room along, strangely enough, is naturally lit. It contains a very rusted, iron fire-pit that is set beneath a small hole in the ceiling that allows light to filter down from the surface, but is much too small to serve as an exit for anyone, even Ninivic.
"Doesn't look there's much here. Let's keep moving."
Raseri marks the room and heads back out to mark the door as well.
Despite seeing Raseri close the door tightly, Olo pulls at it to make sure it doesn't open.
There is still a door for us yet to explore, perhaps when we have a better way to deal with the centipedes. Just the four of them laid us up for days. But what if they find their way to us again?
Olo falls into his place in the group as they continue the exploration
Wisely avoiding the centipede feasting room, the group moves on to the next three doors that are alongside one another. One is an entrance to a short, featureless corridor, with a door on the far end headed to the west. The other right next to it is completely empty, long stripped of anything of worth or interest. Directly across from that one is a moderate sized room hung with abnormally large cobwebs. The webbing crumbles at the slightest touch, however; it seems to be extremely old.
"Bryce, do you wanna check in there, or should we see where that door leads?"
Raseri points her thumb at the room with all of the spiderwebs.
Usually silent when these decisions are made, Olo says,"Best to check out the room before we move on. We already have one room filled with creatures that want to kill us, better not to have 2."
He bobs his head from side to side looking past those in front of him and into the room. "Does anyone have tinder? Webs burn quickly."
"True, Olo. But I am concerned that if something of value were left behind it might be damaged or destroyed by a blaze. I agree with the need for caution. However, as of yet our expedition is still woefully underfunded and I would hate to miss an opportunity to rectify that. The webbing seems to crumble quite easily; does someone have something we can use to bat it down as we go?"
Ninivic moves forward to inspect the webbing and make sure it is as innocuous as it seems. As he moves in, he also makes sure the room does not contain any other threats or traps.
Ninivic creeps inside the spider web-filled room and has a look around, his progress rather restricted by the fact that he constantly has to disentangle himself from the ancient threads. All he discovers is a single giant spider in the corner, belly-up and dry as the desert; it's long dead.
"Bit of a mess in here, but I think all we have is a dead spider. Ready to move on or do any of you want to take a closer look?"
"Let's move on. I want to see what's behind that door down that side passage. Unless I'm mistaken I think that there's a cross-way at that connects this passage and the last one we explored."
Raseri uses the last of a piece of chalk marking the wall next the room.
"But what killed it...? Olo asks as he peers in. He makes no effort to go into the room, however, feeling much more comfortable surrounded by his companions.
"I suspect a lack of people like us to snack on." remarks Ninivic dryly.
Raseri leads the group back down the nearby corridor and tries to open the door - however, it seems to be stuck in place.
Reginald walks up to the stuck door with flail in hand and without a word he starts bashing the door over and over with all his might. The sounds of his assault and his increasingly exuberant grunting echo through the hallway.
"Next time we're in town I need to remember to grab a hammer."
Raseri goes in first searching the gloom with eyes that pierce the dark.
Reginald sets to work literally removing the door, bit by bit, piece by piece, loudly bashing away with his flail. Eventually, he breaks a hole big enough for everyone to simply step through (careful for splinters, though!)
From the inside, it becomes immediately apparent why the door was stuck: it's been spiked shut from the inside with a couple of tapered steel wedges shoved under the door frame to stop it from moving. A skeleton lies up against the wall next to the door, its yellowed bones covered in a thin layer of dust and looking much too emaciated for the shabby leather armor it now wears. A burned-out lantern stands on the floor in the middle of the room, just across from two more skeletons, both stretched out in bedrolls, eternally asleep. In the top corner of the room there is an old-looking wooden chest, and beside one of the bedrolls is a dusty leather backpack.
Apart from that, the room is empty. One door leads to the south; it, too, is spiked, but it would be an easy job to remove them and pass through from this side.
"Hmm. It looks like they locked themselves in here to die rather than face what was out there. I see no foodstuffs; did they starve here? Let's be thorough in our search here to make sure there are no clues as to what they were frightened of. It may help us in our own delve."
"Yes, might have starved. Might have been gassed. Not sure we'll easily solve that mystery unless any of them kept a journal."
As he looks around the room the half-elf pieces together what has occurred. "What could have been so horrible they would rather make their last stand here?" Although he doesn't have the keenest eyes or training in search, he does what he can to help those more capable to himself. Any who watch him see that Olo slows down significantly as he nears the skeletons.
The group spends more an an hour combing every nook and cranny of this room for any clues as to what might have occurred here. Nothing detects as magical throughout the entire room. You discover very little of interest, although you do notice that, strangely enough, this room has an extremely slow draft of air coming into it that keeps it somewhat cooler than the rest of the dungeon so far. There's a small crack near the ceiling where the draft of air appears to be coming out of; it must open up into a small space in the earth.
Near the southern exit, on the right wall, you discover a strange, greenish tinge that appears to be seeping out from through the stone walls... closer inspection determines that there is a very well hidden sliding stone door here. Beyond is a long but narrow room. The source of the green becomes immediately apparent: the entire ceiling of this room is coated with bright green, wet, and sticky slime, much different to the goop you've seen elsewhere in the dungeon. The roof sags slightly as if under some kind of heavy weight, and small drops of the slime seeps and drips through numerous cracks into the room below. On the other side of this room is another closed door.
If the slime is not quickly scraped off a creature it touches, it will seep into the skin and must be frozen, burned, or cut away. Green slime is especially vulnerable to cold, fire, and sunlight, as well as anything that can cure diseases.
After spending so much time searching this room, Olo and Ninivic are all yawns from the monotony of the task. Or... are they? Both feel strangely tired and light-headed...
Stifling another yawn, Ninivic suggests "Well, that took a while. Maybe we should rest a bit before continuing. Anyone have any idea what that stuff is? Not something I remember running into before."
"Nope, not a clue."
Raseri marks the room and takes a look at the slime.
Olo's thoughts seem to cloud a bit the longer they spend time in the room. His vision seems not as clear and he waits for it...yet there is no murmuring, no hiss. It is not causing this.... "I don't feel well here, perhaps we can move on?" He puts his back against a wall for support and then slowly slides down until he is sitting against the wall.
Knowledge Dungeoneering
Intelligence check
"I heard before coming here that there was bad air in places. Perhaps that's what this is? Not a menace, just a nature hazard of life underground?"
Ninivic yawns again, "Let's go out the other side. Maybe we'll figure out what they were trying to hide from."
There doesn't seem to be any immediate danger outside of your current position; rather, it opens out onto a long corridor. To your right the hall stretches maybe 20 feet before it junctions to the right. To your left it continues for much farther before curving to the left; there's a single door along the far wall up this way as well.
"The door we came through was nailed shut, but the other one wasn't I think they were sleeping here when they died. Perhaps we better go another way. I think Molsabar is right."
Reginald seems to be growing increasingly impatient.
"Are we there yet?"
Despite his sarcasm, he falls in line and follows wherever the majority decide to go. As long as there's something to smash, he's right ontop of it.
Leaving behind the dangerous slime patch, the group progresses down the hallway. Olo and Ninivic begin to feel better almost immediately after leaving the room, and gradually feel the light-headedness fade away.
The group follows the hallway to the west. It heads north for barely 20 feet before turning again, and then again, curving around what turns out to be the outline of a room. You come across a doorway, and have a peek inside. It's a rather large and long room with a series of ten rickety wooden beds lined up against the walls in a regular fashion. Each bed has a small wooden footlocker at the end. There's also an empty wooden weapon rack hung up against one wall, and other evidence of relatively recent inhabitants--a dried up and rotten scrap of food, muddy boot prints that have long since dried into clumped dirt, and so on.
After the abandoned barracks, the hallway continues for some time. As you walk down it, you notice a strange, greenish light coming from up ahead, getting brighter and brighter as you proceed. Taking a right turn, the corridor opens up into a large, pentagonally-shaped chamber with an arched roof that opens up at least 30 feet into the air. Nine large pillars run in lines through the room, each carved with a mural of leering and laughing gargoyles. A long and deep fire pit is built against the far wall, and there are two large bronze bowls set within it. Both bowls blaze with eerie green flames that rise ten feet into the air, throwing emerald sparks towards the rooftop. The bronze bowls are decorated similarly to the pillars, and have two massive handles at their sides.
A DC 17 Knowledge (Arcana) check allows you to determine the aura is of the evocation school.
A DC 17 Spellcraft check informs you that the bronze bowls appear to generate a permanent magical fire, similar to continual flame, although this one seems to generate heat and smoke.
Reginald takes a wide-legged stance as though bracing himself against the scenery of the ominous green-flame chamber. He slings his flail with purpose and a bit of impatient menace as he directs his gaze down the center of the pillars.
"I know what this room is!", he boldly exclaims. "Nobody decorates a room this fancy without putting something really expensive in it."
"This is obviously where they keep the !!"
Without another word, the armor-clad warrior charges down the middle of the chamber towards the flaming braziers, grabbing Bryce along the way and dragging him inside.
"BRYCE, BRING YOUR LOCKPICKS. LOOT IS AFOOT.", he bellows as he barrels through the room.
Knowledge Arcana
Spellcraft
"This bowl is magic. Both of them are. They'll generate this flame and smoke indefinitely. They may be quite valuable to the right people."
Ninivic mutters, "Ah poor Bryce, I hope this isn't the end of him." The ratfolk enters the room more cautiously, sniffing the air and looking closely to see if Reginald's entry has caused any alarm or risks setting anything off.
Ninivic honestly speaks too soon. The rat-folk is wise beyond his years - or perhaps simply a normal person level of wise when compared to Reginald.
Reginald and Bryce barrel down the chamber towards the fire-bowls, the former sure that he would locate his riches here and now, the latter not quite so sure. Of course, with Reggie's boisterous shouting and clanging armor, a certain resident of this room finds its sleep rudely interrupted...
The duo grind to an abrupt halt when a large, green, serpentine head pokes out from the flames and hisses, revealing curved fangs like that of a tiger's that drip with a strange, luminescent, lava-like substance. Its brilliant, emerald-green skin glimmers in the firelight, and its eyes are starkly white and without pupils. The cobra emerges from within the fire-pit, enraged, and spreads its hood as wide as Reginald and Bryce combined, before lashing out at the speed of lightning into the nearest target--Bryce. The rogue barely has time to scream before the giant cobra's fangs sink deep into his shoulder, a terrible wound on top of whatever strange poison it inflicts. Bryce tries to push the snake away, but his movement is jagged and slow, and he freezes mid-movement before he succumbs to the wound entirely and drops to the ground in exactly the same pose as he was in. His eyelids remain open, but his eyeballs have rolled back, and he seems to be breathing, although only slightly. In all other ways he is unable to move; paralysed.
Initiative: Snake | Ninivic | Raseri | Molasbar | Olofire | Reginald | Bryce
The flames light up this room well enough that you don't need to worry about dancing lights.
Status
Bryce: -5/10, 15 injury, dying, paralysed for 6 rounds.
Reginald: 5/17, 12 strain. You must make a DC 17 Fort save or become paralysed for rounds.
Almost before Reginald can react, the snake lashes out at him in the same way. He hurriedly uses his shield to block the serpent's nasty bite, its fangs chomping down on the outside edge; however, some of its strange, thick, lava-like poison drops down onto his hands and sizzles painfully as it burns through his flesh.